Humidifier



May 27, 1930. R. A. CRAWFORD HUMIDIFIER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb- 8. 1928 a o #QH d @um -lllllll ll|l lll`l ,l

l attenua May 27, 1930- R. A. CRAWFORD HUMIDIFIER Filed Feb. 8. 1928 2 Sheets-SheetV 2 /n--F I l D W W Q.. A R

@gaf 1@ '44% Patented May 27, 1930 ori-ica RUBERT A. CRAWFORD, @F lQEAJWBlitlitlllfhllll', SOUTH DAKOTA applicati@ niet rem-wry e, iae'a. aerial ivo. atenas.

This invention relates to humiditying attachments 'for radiators, and it has, for its object, to provide highly ecient apparatus, adapted to be mounted in connection with the a ordinary house heating hot water or steam" radiators, and constructed in such manner as to evaporate a very much greater amount of water' than has been possible with known devices otthis sort.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the detailed description which follows:

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. l is aside elevation of a radiator, having the apparatus of the present invention applied thereto. y Fig. 2 is` a vertical, sectional view therethrough, with the radiator in elevation. Fig. 3 is a plan view o the top of the radiator, and the water pan, with the cover of the radiator removed, and with one set of the wicks' removed.

Fig. t is a perspective view of a pair of the wicks, hereinafter described.

Figih is a transverse sectional viewthrough the 'Water pan and radiator, showing the wicks in postion. v

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the drip pan.

Figure -7 is an end elevation of the drip pan.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several iigures of the drawing. h

, In the drawing, 5 designates a conventlonal type .of heating radiator, such as is rcommonly employed in homes, and other buildings, for the purpose of heating the same.

It is'a well known fact that a certain degree of moisture in the air in a dwelling, is highly desirable; not only fior the health and comfort of the occupants ofthe building, but =for the most economical results in heating. Cold air is able to absorb very little moisture, and cold air coming in from the outside, even though it were saturated with moisture when cold, becomes exceeding dryl when warm. This dry air is then able to absorb a very large amount of moisture, and it is the purpose of the present invention to supply this moisture in a most eiiicient way. It 1s well known to heating engineers that a residence is much more comfortable to human beings'a't 68 degrees, when the air is moist, than it s at 70 degrees, or over, when the air is dry. 'lhat is to say, the air feels warmer at a given tembut a very limited evaporative capacity. This has usually been due to the fact that they expose but a relatively small area of surface of water to the heat 4ot the radiator. It is not suicient that an apparatus of this sort exposes a large volume of water to the heat of the radiator. Volume is not controlling. It is the surface that is exposed for evaporation that determines how much water will be evaporated ina given time, and at` a given temperature oit the radiator. Therefore, I have devised an apparatus which utilizes all of the spaces between the sections of the radiator, substantially throughout the entire height of the radiatonto bring about the evaporative edect, and, as a result, I have produced an apparatus which will evaporate a very large quantity of water in a relatively short time.

Further, I` have devised an apparatus which will automatically control .the amount of Water deliveredthereto, in accordance with the moisture content of the air in the room. To accomplish this result I mount upon the top of the radiator a pan 6, to which water is supplied from a water supply pipe 7. A conventional type ot float valve 8 serves to maintain a predetermined level in the pan 6. If, for any reason, this float valve should fail to operate the water may escape through an overflow pipe 9 to the sewer' 10. A circuit closing hygrometer 11 acts to control an electrically operated valve 12, in the Water supply line 7, and when the humidity of the air in the room has reached the desired degree,

said hygrometer acts to shut offl the water, by the operation of valve 12, so that no more water will flow to the pan 6, until the moisture content has been lowered beyond the point for which the hygrometer is set at which time the valve will again be automatically opened, and the water will flow to pan 6. Circuit con- .trolling hygrometer have acluired a distinct status in the art, and are wi ely used in connection with lumber drying kilns, and like apparatus, and, consequently, further description of this element is not necessary.

- The pan 6 is divided into three longitudinal channels, 6, 6b, 6c, and two cross end channels 6^i 6"-, which connect the longitudinal channels. This leaves two open spaces 14 and 15 through the pan, which overlie the radiator sections. Parallel wires or rods 16 and 17 are connected at their ends by the cross rods 18 and these rods constitute wick carriers. These wick carriers are secured in any desired way upon the pan 6, as for example, by thumb screws 19, and they extend longitudinallyY above and overlie the spaces 14 and 15. ach longitudinal wire of each wick carrier has a plurality of vertically disosed elon ated wicks, depending therefrom. ihese wic s consist of the crossed wire frames 20, which carry webs of suitable wick material 21, such as a porous cloth, for example. The crossed wire frames 20 are secured to the longitudinally extending rods of the wick carriers, and at their point of juncture, tufts of Water conductive material 22 are disposed. These tufts may consist of small pieces of sponge, or they may consist of extended portions of the cloth 21,' brought to tufted formation.

These vertically disposed elongated wicks project downwardly into the spaces between the radiator sections. rIransversely, and horizontally disposed wicks 23 extend across and are connected to the tufts 22, and have their outer ends downturned into the chanf nels 6, 6b, or 6* 6, as the case may be. These cross wicks serve to conduct the water from these channels to the tufts 22 and thence to the vertical wicks, where it is fed downwardly, both by capillarity and by gravity. The distance that the water must be conducted wholly under the influence of capillarity is very short, and the fact that the remainder of the feed of the water is under the influence of gravit as well as capillarity, results in a very e cient feeding of the water to the vertical wicks.- Since these vertical wicks are exposed to the heat of all of'the radiator sections throughout substantially the entire height of the latter, it follows that the effective evaporative area is veryv great, and, consequently, the amount of water that may be evaporated by this arrangement is correspondingly large.

A drip an 24 is disposed beneath the radiator and iias a channel 25 formed in its botfrom the lower ends of the vertical wicks.

I contemplate employing a cover 27 to cover the radiatorand pan 6, and this cover may be made throughout, or to any desired extent, of ornamental grill work, so that an etlicient circulation of the air therethrough ma be maintained. 2 It is to beunderstood that the invention i not limited to the precise construction set forth, nor to the particular shape of the parts illustrated, because these will be varied as the different types of radiators require. Consequently, I wish to make it clear that the invention includes within its purview whatever changes fairly come within either the spirit or the terms of the appended claims. Having described my invention, what I cla'im is 1. In' combination, a radiator comprising a plurality, of spaced sections, a water pan, shaped and dimensioned to rest upon and extend longitudinally along the top of the radiator throughout substantially the length thereof, elongated wicks extending downwardly from said pan, shaped to lie between the radiator sections and transverse wicks connected to the tops of the first named wicks and having their terminal ends disposed in the water 1n the pan, said .transverse wicks serving to feed the water from the pan to the vertical wicks.

2. The combination with a radiator, comprising a plurality of sections spaced from each other, of a water supply pan mounted thereon and extending substantially the full length thereof, vertical wicks suspended from said panand lying between the radiator sections, means for feeding water from the pan to said vertical wicks, and a housing covering the pan and the upper portion of the radiator, said housing having al foraminous side, an open bottom and a closed top.

3. The combination with a radiator comprising a plurality of spaced sections, of an pan, having an open bottom, a closed top' and a foraminous side.

5. The combination'with a radiator comprising a pluralityof spaced sections, of an elongated pan supported upon the top of said radiator, said pan having a longitudinal opening throu h its bottom, upon .each side of the center ine thereof, elongated vertical Wicks passing through' said openings and depending between the sections of the radiq 5 ator inwardly of the outer edges vthereof,

means for supporting said wicks fromthe pan, and transverse wicks for feeding water toI the vertical Wicks, from the pan.

ln testimony whereof he aiixe's his signa- 10 ture.

ROBERT A. CRAWFORD. 

